Fisherman&#39;s bait box



Apr M),v E951 J. M. cRoMLEY FISHERMANS BAIT BOX Filed June 21, 1948 John M. Cram/ey l N VEN TOR.

Patented Apr. 10,` 1951 UNITED STATES-* 1 PATENT OFFICE l -Y FISHERMANS; BAIVT BXA J QhnM.; Cromley, Lewisburg, 12a, v Application June 21, 194s, serial NQ. -34,314

Thisv invention comprises novelandi useful improvements in a fishermansbait box; andY more speccally pertains to alnoyel andaccessible container for bait together with an impro-ved carry- -ingand closure means for the same. K The principal object of this ,invention is to provide a bait box which may bereasily'attached to the garbof a fisherman fory supportthereon; which may be conveniently securedr in its closed position and by a pivotal movementv may be,

opened to give ready accesstov the bait therein; wherein the sha-pe of they pivoted container is such that the fish bait such as worms` or the like may be kept or stored. in earth and `upon opening movement of the container may` be spread out.

in an easily accessible manner for the fisherman. A further feature of the, invention resides .in the provision of a novelhanger adaptedv to be secured to the belt of .the shermanandjhaying a hinge thereon for pivotally mounting, a .con-- Ytailler, which container is prqvidedwith an opening in the upper walls of its upper end which is uncovered by the downwardly pivoting movement of thev container and which is closed bya fixed closure carried by the hangerwhen the container is in its vertical position.

A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a pivoted container formingv a bait box as set forth inthe preceding paragraphs, wherein the closure is provided with upper, side and top wallsforembracing the ends, side and open top of the container in its vertical position,

partition, and wherein the upper portion of the topwall of the container is open to obtain access to the contents thereof; and further v`character-- ized by the provision of an inwardly and downwardly sloping lower wall for the container to assist in spreading out the earth and bait contained therein when the container is lowered to Va substantially horizontal open position.

A still further feature of the invention comprehends the provision of a pivoted container for a lshermans bait box wherein the hanger is provided with lower, bent terminal portions adapted to be hinged to and to support the lower sloping wall of the container when the latter is in its closed or vertical position.

And a final important feature and object of the invention is specially enumerated herein, resides in the provision of a iishermans bait box wherein a pivoted container is mounted upon a 4. Claims. (Cl..- 2.24 -5 hanger navinga xedrc'losuremember thereon,

, wherein the container: anditsclosure are adapted to be constructedgof light weight inexpensive sheet metal in an economicalmanner.

These, together with various ancillary Vfeatures and objects of the invention which will later .become apparent as the followingv description proceeds, are attained by this device, preferred embodiments of which have been illustrated by -way of examplel in the accompanying drawings. wherein:

Figure 1 is a. perspective view of one embodiment of bait box in accordance with the principles of this invention ;l

Figure. Zeig a side elevational view'of thelembodiment shown inE'igure 1;

kligure isa vertical longitudinal sectional view of.' the. embodmentnf Figures land .2., they yopen position' of thecontainerbeing ndicatediby dotted lines; and,

Figure a is a` fragmentary perspective View 0f the lower portion o f arnodifed formv of supporting hanger for the container.

Referring now more specifically to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals desig- `nate similar portions of the various views, attention is directed rst to Figures 1-3 wherein the numeral Il) designates generally a hanger for supporting the device upon a portion of the garmentsv of the fisherman, such as upon the belt or the like. This hanger may consistof any suitable construction and is conveniently formed of a single pieceI of wire or similar material, this wire being folded to provide a downwardly and inwardly turnedA loop, portion l2 havingvertically extending parallel legs l!!A which are adapted to bek disposed over and behind thebelt cf the sherman, These legs lll at the upper end'sare prol. their lower en ols are connectedwith a4 hinge y'of any vdesirec construction indicated at. .20j- This I hinge is suitably secured as, by rivets, welding'or the like to the lower end wall 2 ,2 of a container designated generally by the numeral 24 and'wh'ich is pivotally mounted on the hanger by means of the hinge 20.

This pivoted container includes a flat bottom 2S together with side walls 28, an upper end wall 30, the above mentioned lower end wall 22, and a rigid and if desired an integral partial top or cover 32 extending from the end wall 22 towards the upper end wall 30 and partially overlying the bottom 26 in parallel relation thereto.

It will thus be seen that the container forms a generally rectangular substantially completely enclosed casing, except for the opening provided between the ends of the partition 32 and the upper end wall 30, which opening is adapted to provide access to the contents of the container.

The lower end wall 22 is preferably formed to slope inwardly and downwardly towards the bottom 26, as shown in Figure 3.

A fixed closure indicated generally by the numeral 34 is rigidly secured to the leg members i8 of the hanger Ill, as by welding or the like, and this stationary closure includes a top end wall 3B, triangular shaped side walls 38, and a top wall 40 by means of which the closure is secured to the above mentioned hanger legs i8.

The arrangement is such that when the container 24 is in its vertical or raised position, the open upper end thereof is received within the fixed closure 34 as shown in Figures l and 3, whereby the container is completely closed. When however the container is pivoted downwardly about the supporting hinge 29, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, the open top wall portion of the container is then exposed whereby access may be had to the contents in the interior thereof. It should be here noted that when the container is in the raised position shown in Figure 3, the mass of bait, the dirt in which the same is received are all disposed in the lower end v of the container due to the vertical position oi the latter. However when the container is lowered as in dotted lines in Figure 3, the sloping lower end wall 22 assists in causing the dirt and y bait in the container to be spread outwardly and downwardly and more or less evenly across the floor of the container, thereby uncovering the bait from the dirt medium in the container and permitting easy removal of the bait by the fisherman through the uncovered opening in the con-J 35 tainer.

In order to assist in retaining the container in its raised, vertical or closed position, a spring catch is provided. For this purpose, a flexible strip 42 of any suitable resilient material isA` rigidly connected as by rivets 44 to the upper end wall 36 of the closure 34, and this resilient strip is provided with a flanged or bent portion 46 at its outer end which constitutes a catch and is adapted to overlie and yieldingly engage the bottom 26 of the container when in its raised position. The operation of this yieldable fastening or latching means Will be readily understood and further explanation thereof is believed to oe unnecessary.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is disclosed a modified construction wherein the hanger I which is of conventional construction has a .lower end of the legs I8 turned inwardly as at 46 to underlie the end wall 22 oi the container and serve as a supporting means therefor when the container is in its raised position. The ends 4 operation of this form of the invention is identical to that set forth above, except that the hanger l0 serves to more intermittently support and secure the pivoted container, and to relieve the strain upon the edge when the container is in its raised and closed position.

From the foregoing, the principles of operation, the construction and advantages of the invention will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary.

However, since numerous modiiications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specification and annexed drawings, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and arrangements shown and described, but all suitable modications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A fishermans bait box comprising a container having a bottom wall, end and side walls, and a top wall covering a portion of said container and defining an opening with the adjacent Walls, a substantially U-shaped hanger hingedly connected to one of said end walls, a closure member carried by said hanger and covering said opening and means for resiliently locking said closure member to the other end wall.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the lower end wall o f said container is inclined downwardly toward said top wall.

3. The combination of claim l, wherein said closure has an end and side walls and an integral cover portion for embracing the upper end and sides of said container when the latter is pivoted ,into its Vertical position.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,072,022 Miller Sept. 2, 1913 l,314,392 Glamzo Aug. 26, 1919 1,484,399 Kroha Feb. 19, 1924 1,526,457 Brooks et al Feb. 17, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date Austria June l0, 1.916 

